MetaFilter posts tagged with Crime and businesshttp://www.metafilter.com/tags/Crime+business
Posts tagged with 'Crime' and 'business' at MetaFilter.Tue, 03 Apr 2012 04:32:10 -0800Tue, 03 Apr 2012 04:32:10 -0800en-ushttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss60Executive Compensationhttp://www.metafilter.com/114482/Executive%2DCompensation
<a href="http://hbr.org/2012/03/the-incentive-bubble/ar/pr">The Incentive Bubble</a> (<a href="http://clubs.cob.calpoly.edu/~cmiller/ARTICLES/Executive%20Compensation/The%20Incentive%20Bubble.pdf">ungated pdf</a>) - "The fraying of the compact of American capitalism by rising income inequality and repeated governance crises is disturbing. But misallocations of financial, real, and human capital arising from the financial-incentive bubble are much more worrisome to those concerned with the competitiveness of the American economy." <blockquote>An economy can be only as strong as the allocation mechanisms that ensure that capital of all types moves toward its highest social use. When risk is repeatedly mispriced because investors enjoy skewed incentive schemes, financial capital is being misallocated. When managers undertake unwise investments or mergers in order to meet expectations that will trigger large compensation packages, real capital is being misallocated. And when relative compensation is as distorted as it has been by the financial-incentive bubble over the past several decades, one can only assume that human capital is being misallocated, to a disturbing degree. Awakening our monitors to their responsibilities and to the flaws of market-based compensation provides the best hope for correcting these misallocations and strengthening the U.S. economy for the challenges of this century.</blockquote><a href="http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2012/02/satyajit-das-pravda-the-economist%E2%80%99s-take-on-financial-innovation.html">Satyajit Das: <strike>Pravda</strike> The Economist's Take on Financial Innovation</a> - "There is no acknowledgement that much of what is called financial innovation is economic <a href="http://www.signallake.com/innovation/Looting1993.pdf">rent</a> <a href="http://baselinescenario.com/2009/03/05/confusion-tunneling-and-looting/">extraction</a>, exploiting lack of transparency as well as information and knowledge asymmetries. There is no discussion of the destructive bonus culture which encourages certain behaviours in financial institutions... The unpalatable reality that few, self interested industry participants and their cheerleaders are prepared to admit is that much of what passes for financial innovation is specifically designed to conceal risk, obfuscate investors and reduce transparency. The process is entirely deliberate. Efficiency and transparency is not consistent with the high profit margins on Wall Street and the City. Financial products need to be opaque and <a href="http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2012/02/27/897921/grantham-on-how-we-dont-value-our-grandchildren/">priced inefficiently</a> to produce <a href="http://baselinescenario.com/2012/02/29/why-is-finance-so-big/">excessive profits</a>."
<a href="http://www.creditwritedowns.com/2012/03/wall-streets-broken-windows.html">Wall Street's Broken Windows</a> - "James Q. Wilson was a political scientist who often studied the government response to blue collar crime. The public knows him best for his theory called 'broken windows...' Wilson took social norms, community, and ethics seriously. He argued that as community broke down fewer honest citizens were active in monitoring and policing behavior. <a href="http://www.creditwritedowns.com/2011/09/why-nobody-went-to-jail-during-the-credit-crisis.html">The breakdown in community was criminogenic</a> – it led to widespread serious blue collar crime. He urged us to take even minor blue collar crimes and breaches of civility seriously and to demand that they be contained through social pressure and policing... Similarly, corruption that is excused and tolerated by elites is unlikely to remain at the level of 'a few deals.' Corruption is likely to spread in incidence and severity precisely because it undermines community and the rule of law and it is likely to grow more pervasive and harmful the more we tolerate it." tag:metafilter.com,2012:site.114482Tue, 03 Apr 2012 04:32:10 -0800kliuless"As with other online businesses, the site promised convenience and efficiency."http://www.metafilter.com/113743/As%2Dwith%2Dother%2Donline%2Dbusinesses%2Dthe%2Dsite%2Dpromised%2Dconvenience%2Dand%2Defficiency
Need a spouse or uncooperative business associate taken care of? Have no fear! <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-hitman-for-hire-20120228,0,6070854,full.story">HitmanForHire.net is here.</a> tag:metafilter.com,2012:site.113743Sun, 11 Mar 2012 07:48:10 -0800reenum"Everyone has pain. It's your job to find it."http://www.metafilter.com/107029/Everyone%2Dhas%2Dpain%2DIts%2Dyour%2Djob%2Dto%2Dfind%2Dit
<b><i>Start a home business, get rich quick, win financial freedom!</i></b> If you watch late-night TV, you've heard it all before. But what's the story behind these slick pitchmen and their dubious schemes? Enter <a href="http://www.saltydroid.info/">The Salty Droid</a>, your ornery metal guide to the corrupt underworld of scam-marketing scum. This <a href="http://saltydroid.info/wtf/">charmingly acerbic bot</a> (owned and operated by <a href="http://saltydroid.info/wtf/operator-specs/">mild-mannered Chicago dog-lover Jason Michael Jones</a> <small>[<a href="http://saltydroid.info/jason-and-the-droid-part-1/">inter</a>-<a href="http://saltydroid.info/jason-and-the-droid-part-2/">view</a>, <a href="http://www.seobook.com/salty-droid-interview">long talk + transcript</a>]</small>) is a valiant crusader against the vile con-men who bankrupt the elderly and the desperate with <a href="http://saltydroid.info/anthony-morrisons-television-internets/">beautiful lies</a>. <b>Exposed so far:</b> A shadowy <a href="http://saltydroid.info/the-internet-marketing-syndicate/">"Syndicate"</a> of <a href="http://saltydroid.info/syndicate-shit-storm/">frauduct-pushing</a> <a href="http://saltydroid.info/blueprint-to-cult-riches/">personality cults</a> polluting the media with <a href="http://saltydroid.info/seo-4-u-and-me/">blogspam</a> and <a href="http://saltydroid.info/scripts-and-triggers/">woo-woo talking points</a>. <a href="http://www.wisegeek.com/in-business-what-is-a-boiler-room.htm">Boiler rooms</a> in the Utah desert where telemarketers <a href="http://saltydroid.info/scamming-two-debbies/">farm credit from easy targets</a> with <a href="http://saltydroid.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Boiling-Instructions.pdf">cunning, probing scripts</a> <small>[PDF]</small>. <a href="http://saltydroid.info/mark-shurtleff-attorney-general-of-mlm/">Powerful politicians bought wholesale</a>. <a href="http://saltydroid.info/james-arthur-ray-trial-updates/">Believers left to die in fraudulent new-age vision quests</a>. It's a soul-crushing beat, enough to make one feel like a regular <a href="http://saltydroid.info/robot-in-the-rye/">catcher-bot in the digital rye</a>. But somebody's got to do it -- preferably someone with <a href="http://saltydroid.info/wtf/character-specs/">plasma nunchucks and titanium skin</a>. tag:metafilter.com,2011:site.107029Wed, 31 Aug 2011 11:12:26 -0800RhaomiDeal of the Centuryhttp://www.metafilter.com/101742/Deal%2Dof%2Dthe%2DCentury
<a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-stoner-arms-dealers-20110316?print=true">How two American kids became big-time weapons traders</a> - "Working with nothing but an Internet connection, a couple of cellphones and a steady supply of weed, the two friends — one with a few college credits, the other a high school dropout — had beaten out Fortune 500 giants like General Dynamics to score the huge arms contract. With a single deal, two stoners from Miami Beach had turned themselves into the least likely merchants of death in history." (<a href="http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2011/03/arms-trading-and-buzz-kill.html">via</a>; previously on <a href="http://www.metafilter.com/tags/arms">arms</a> <a href="http://www.metafilter.com/tags/contractors">contractors</a>) tag:metafilter.com,2011:site.101742Mon, 21 Mar 2011 18:00:09 -0800kliulessControl Fraud Theory: When CEOs go badhttp://www.metafilter.com/97421/Control%2DFraud%2DTheory%2DWhen%2DCEOs%2Dgo%2Dbad
Ken Lay &amp; Enron. Bernie Madoff. Bernie Ebbers &amp; WorldCom. What is it about CEOs that makes them uniquely capable of pulling off the most audacious &amp; expensive kind of white collar crime? <a href="http://bizcovering.com/management/the-control-fraud-theory/">Control Fraud Theory</a> has the answer. Via the ever-enlightening <a href="http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2010/11/control_fraud.html">Bruce Schneier</a>. tag:metafilter.com,2010:site.97421Mon, 08 Nov 2010 15:01:08 -0800scalefree30 Minutes or Lesshttp://www.metafilter.com/89406/30%2DMinutes%2Dor%2DLess
<a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/14/local/la-me-blacktar14-2010feb14">Heroin can now be delivered to your house like a pizza.</a> They also target white, middle class clientele, believing them to be a safer bet. They also focus on customer service and other business school principles to bring a better shopping experience to their addicted customers. tag:metafilter.com,2010:site.89406Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:36:07 -0800reenumAs If It Weren't Obvious Alreadyhttp://www.metafilter.com/87876/As%2DIf%2DIt%2DWerent%2DObvious%2DAlready
<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704254604574614230731506644.html">Saving Mexico</a> "To weaken the cartels, some argue the U.S. should <a href="http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/12/as-if-it-werent-obvious-already.html">legalize marijuana</a>, let cocaine pass through the Caribbean and take the profit motive out of the drug trade." tag:metafilter.com,2009:site.87876Mon, 28 Dec 2009 13:12:00 -0800kliulessThe Trouble with Enronhttp://www.metafilter.com/57430/The%2DTrouble%2Dwith%2DEnron
<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/printables/fact/070108fa_fact">Open Secrets</a> - the trouble with Enron tag:metafilter.com,2007:site.57430Tue, 02 Jan 2007 09:19:27 -0800GyanFTC imposes $10M fine against ChoicePoint for data breachhttp://www.metafilter.com/48599/FTC%2Dimposes%2D10M%2Dfine%2Dagainst%2DChoicePoint%2Dfor%2Ddata%2Dbreach
<a href="http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,108069,00.html">FTC imposes $10M fine against ChoicePoint for data breach</a> The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has fined ChoicePoint $10 million for a data breach that allowed identity thieves posing as legitimate businesses to steal social security numbers, credit reports, and other data from nearly 140,000 people. This is the largest fine ever levied by the FTC. ChoicePoint also has to set up a 'trust fund' for people victimized by identity thieves. From the article: 'As part of its agreement with the FTC, ChoicePoint will also have to submit to comprehensive security audits every two years for the next 20 years.'" <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8FCE6T86.htm?campaign_id=apn_home_down&chan=db">BusinessWeek has additional info.</a>
Perhaps there might be hope for individual privacy after all. Let's all keep our fingers crossed. tag:metafilter.com,2006:site.48599Thu, 26 Jan 2006 14:41:45 -0800mk1gtiMartha Stewart Guilty.http://www.metafilter.com/31601/Martha%2DStewart%2DGuilty
<a href="http://money.cnn.com/2004/03/05/news/companies/martha_verdict/index.htm">Martha Stewart Guilty</a> tag:metafilter.com,2004:site.31601Fri, 05 Mar 2004 12:29:33 -0800ben-oEnron 'Crooked E' For Salehttp://www.metafilter.com/20086/Enron%2DCrooked%2DE%2DFor%2DSale
<a href="http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&amp;u=/nm/20020917/od_nm/enron_dc_1">Enron 'Crooked E' For Sale</a> "The ultimate symbol of the bankrupt power trader -- one of the ubiquitous chrome signs dubbed "the Crooked E" for its distinctive slant and commentary on the company's questionable dealings -- is on the auction block." The sign is only one of thousands of items up for sale September 25th and 26th, at the <a href="http://www.hotel-houston.com/">Houston Radisson Astrodome</a> hotel. tag:metafilter.com,2002:site.20086Tue, 17 Sep 2002 13:41:09 -0800gummi"To compile The Top 100 Corporate Criminals of the 1990s, http://www.metafilter.com/17526/To%2Dcompile%2DThe%2DTop%2D100%2DCorporate%2DCriminals%2Dof%2Dthe%2D1990s
<a href="http://www.corporatepredators.org/top100.html">"To compile The Top 100 Corporate Criminals of the 1990s, </a> we used the most narrow and conservative of definitions -- corporations that have pled guilty or no contest to crimes and have been criminally fined." Just brimming with fascinating business lore, including "The FBI estimates that 19,000 Americans are murdered every year. Compare this to the 56,000 Americans who die every year on the job or from occupational diseases such as black lung and asbestosis and the tens of thousands of other Americans who fall victim to the silent violence of pollution, contaminated foods, hazardous consumer
products...." tag:metafilter.com,2002:site.17526Fri, 31 May 2002 10:37:28 -0800fold_and_mutilateEnron's historical precidents.http://www.metafilter.com/15025/Enrons%2Dhistorical%2Dprecidents
<a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-000013610feb22.story">Enron's historical precidents.</a> This L.A. Times article discusses the historical precidents to the Enron debacle. My favorite (among lots of good stuff):
<br><br>
"Like Enron, ITT was a big campaign contributor. But Geneen's idea of how to use political influence made Lay and associates look like choir boys. In 1970, the company offered Republicans $1 million and consulted heavily with the Nixon White House and the CIA when Chile's new socialist president, Salvador Allende, threatened to seize the ITT-owned Chilean Telephone Co. Allende was overthrown with U.S. aid." tag:metafilter.com,2002:site.15025Fri, 22 Feb 2002 22:58:31 -0800electroSenator Hollings makes the case for a special council to look into the Enron affair.http://www.metafilter.com/14635/Senator%2DHollings%2Dmakes%2Dthe%2Dcase%2Dfor%2Da%2Dspecial%2Dcouncil%2Dto%2Dlook%2Dinto%2Dthe%2DEnron%2Daffair
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/09/opinion/09HOLL.html">Senator Hollings makes the case for a special council to look into the Enron affair.</a> <b>(NY Times link). </b>San Antonio columnist <a href="http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=1055&xlc=602461&xld=1055">Jan Jarboe Russell</a> argues for the same. Here's a <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/enron/story/0,11337,645134,00.html">Guardian </a> article on the situation. tag:metafilter.com,2002:site.14635Sat, 09 Feb 2002 11:40:37 -0800Ty Webb